Ouch!
More on the saga of David Boyer (a.k.a Iron Dave, Doc Byron, David Byron, etc). Here's an excerpt from the HWA's Home Page, hot off the press:
"HWA has recently been informed of several acts of plagiarism regarding works on our 2008 and 2010 Stoker recommendations lists. The works in question are three recommendations received in 2008 for the short story "Electrocuting the Clowns", credited to "Doc Byron", and a recommendation for the 2010 anthology CRIMSON SCREAMS, edited by "David Byron". The publisher of CRIMSON SCREAMS, Sam's Dot, has pulled the anthology from release following allegations of plagiarized art; and the short story "Electrocuting the Clowns" is actually by Ferrel Moore. HWA has removed these recommendations from record.
HWA has also recently posted an article to our "Writer's Tips" page on how authors can protect themselves from plagiarism: http://horror.org/writetips-morton.htm. For more information on Mr. Byron's activities, please visit http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2010/10/cold-iron-david-boyer-plagiarist.html."
*****
David, you always wanted to be front page on the horror scene, well, now you got your wish.
And none of this would have been possible without the support of the blogging community. There are too many of you to thank individually, so let me just say a loud THANK YOU to all of you. You have taught me the meaning of the word community. You have shown me that writers and artists can come together to protect our rights as a creative community, and for that I will remain in your debt.
The HWA organization has show their integrity in their actions today. They are truly an organization with honorable standards.
But this isn't over, not at all. Now comes the legal end of things.
And a word of advice for David Boyer (David Byron, Doc Byron, Iron Dave and who knows what other names he has)- it's always better to start taking down your websites to erase your tracks before our researchers have taken screen shots of them.
29 comments:
All this that you've been doing is amazing. I now know what advice to give others who go through the same thing. Stay strong. You're beating this guy. I hope this puts an end to this.
Also, it's awesome Writers Beware did a blog on this guy. I hope others come forward and everyone he's wronged can get justice.
Also, I was a bit excited to see that your story was up for recommendation for the Stoker award. That's awesome. I hope it's still up, but with the proper name on it. It would be so amazing to win a Stoker award.
Hey Rick! Saw your comment on Charles' site - thanks!
Glad to see that guy who plagiarized your work is getting his. Sounds like he's sealed his fate as a writer.
I enjoyed the HWA post about it. Good.
Hey Christina, it was all of us together on this one. I really mean this that nothing could have done without you fellow bloggers.
Alex, Charles' recommendation is always good with me! And yep, this guy is going down.
Charles, thank you so much for your support. You are an amazing force in the blogging community.
Woo-hoo! Way to go, Rick.
Aww, man. Your story was nominated for a Stoker? Awesome. :-D Can't they leave it up with your name on it instead? This is insane, Rick. Hang in there.
Without help from you rustynail, this wouldn't have happened. You are real support for the writing community. Don't ever quit.
Insanity describes it really well, Demon Hunter!
Rick - again, great job at flushing out this rat! It is good that so many bloggers knew what to do to help. Sorry, I was just standing by wringing my hands! I'll be looking for reports of your story winning the Stoker award - properly credited, of course!
K, so many people have helped on this that I feel like it is a group accomplishment- which is remarkable since writers and artists are sometimes such solitary creatures.
These are federal crimes, looks like fines, penalties and perhaps a vacation at club fed. Then comes the civil suit for personal damages and lost revenue pursuing him. But oh, what am I saying? He's the helpless victim, with two broken legs, a rare skin disease, cancer and plywood teeth (dentures cost too much). This is one of the alter egos of the scam artist. If he really wants to write, it can be a book about what he learned from his failures as a professional scammer "wonna-be". Thanks for letting me vent. Just let us know how the lawsuit is going.
Thank you for making us aware of this evil deed. I am sorry you were a victim.
Author Glynis Smy
I came here from Victoria Strauss's post at Writer Beware. So sorry you've had to deal with this! Internet investigation is a hobby of mine, so I dug up a few sites I hadn't seen mentioned yet:
His LinkedIn profile where he claims a degree in writing, although he attended college for only a year: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-boyer/22/9ab/72
His Jack Burnett Amazon profile (includes a different picture): http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3KY71IOUDX02N/ref=cm_cr_rev_detpdp
A book by yet another publishing company he started called Into the Light Publishing: http://intothelight2010.webs.com/
I also found his criminal record and birth date, but I won't share them publicly because I'm nice :)
Sorry for the double post. I also found this site:
http://mattspencer.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=102605086
It appears that a Matt Spencer (I don't he is the same person) is responsible for some of the stolen cover artwork. Artists may want to check his other covers as well.
Glynis,if all this exposure protects you and other writers from being plagiarized, then I'm really happy. Watch for my next post on a fascinate law that can take down plagiarists like him.
Angela, I am so impressed with you and the others who have turned out to be great detectives. We're going to dive on your leads. New publishing company????? He should be run out of the business!
Wow. Matt Spencer is an intriguing lead because artists are just as much at risk as writers. You are really good. We have a report on his criminal record, but might you consider emailing me on that? It would really help.
And thank you so much, Angela!
Nice to see more light cast on this piece of $h!t. Keep up the good work. ;)
I'm on it, Lana! (plus a whole bunch of other people)
I applaud you, support you and encourage your effort here. Glynis sent me over and I'm here cheering in your corner now.
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow
Hello, Jules! Thanks so much for your support on this difficult issue. It's not over yet, but it's soon going to get more interesting.
Just to clarify: "Electrocuting the Clown" received three recommendations on the 2008 Stoker recommendations list. It did not receive a nomination, and it it not eligible to advance any further. And yes, it is unfortunate that those three recommendations didn't go to the proper author!
so far so pretty good, rick... i just hope the law takes a big bite out of what will hurt that mook even more... his wallet! GRRRRRRRRRRR
Man I had no idea that the dickstain pulled that stunt. If I knew I wouldn't have published it, and he managed to send me two stories but I am doing a little background check on the second one to make sure it's his. I've seen his short work and there is no way in hell he can do longer works.
Hey again, Nickolaus. I'm going to be posting again today or tomorrow a couple of things that will help us all not only protect our works from this guy, but get the authorities in on this. Probably tomorrow night.
It is indeed a shame that those recommendations can't go back on record, but attributed to the right author, since the story itself duly earned them.
To whom can we send a petition/letters to that effect, to further reduce the injustice they have already shown their earnest desire to avoid?
I'll happily sign.
(I know it won't advance this contest, but it should make a mark on the record for future reference: "Oh, we've heard good things about this author before....")
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